On baths and bathing

As a kid growing up in Hong Kong we always took baths. This is probably down to my English background. We never showered. We also had a bath at the end of the day so we were all clean for bedtime. With typical child self centredness I have no recollection of what time of day my parents bathed. Maybe they took a shower. In the mid-60s Hong Kong suffered an horrendous drought which saw our water being turned on every 4 days for a couple of hours during which every available receptacle was filled. We bathed out of a saucepan. On more than one unfortunate occasion the taps had been turned on and left on so when the water came back on it flooded the place. 

When we came to Melbourne in the early '70s it didn't take me long to realise that everyone showered in the morning. Do not do so was somehow disgusting and as the new kid on the block with the "posh" accent I desperately wanted to fit in. Why my ablutions were anyone else's business didn't enter my mind. I remember those early days in Melbourne so well as I was struggling to fit in and my mother was struggling to retain her Englishness. It led to some inevitable clashes and I don't think our relationship ever recovered. I left home as soon as I could.

I do love a bath. Showers are for getting clean (and waking up) but baths are for relaxing and unwinding. I have a collection of yummies to put in the water depending on my mood and mindset.

This house has an 80s bathroom with lots of cream walls and tiles. Until we painted the walls grey it was like bathing in a room full of porridge. It does have a red and cream cast iron bath on feet which is something I have always wanted (not necessarily the cream bit). To my dismay the cast iron causes the water to cool down very quickly. So once we have the dollars to spend on the bathroom I intend to buy a deep acrylic bath with sleek lines. And room for my wine, my book and a candle.

All good things are worth waiting for

 

She is tiny and delicate and precious. The monkey in the top photo was dropped off this morning. It is bigger than she is.

I am in love.

Sprung!

I was sitting in my pyjamas (comfy qantas business class jammies thanks to Two who works for qantas - I have never flown business class nor am I ever likely to) as the clock ticked closer to midday and I started entertaining thoughts about shower and getting dressed. To my horror the door bell rang and it obviously wasn't the postie. A masked figure was visible through the flyscreen carrying a couple of brown paper bags. It was a good friend who had made some soft toys for Alice and Sally and had also brought me some scrap yarn for weaving. Phew! but even so, there are some things even close friends shouldn't be subjected to and me in my jammies at lunch time is right up there.

Himself had taken the dogs to the park and I was faffing around on my computer which is how I spend waste too many hours these days.

Needless to say I am now showered and dressed and the door bell will remain silent.

Last night Himself made the best fried rice ever. Way too much was eaten but it was so good I couldn't stop. He has gone to Aldi to get their marinated chicken breasts which we shall have with Aldi spuds and peas. And wine. I made another batch of muffins yesterday but the pinger thingy didn't ping so they were a tad dry. I'll try microwaving them with some butter otherwise the dogs can have a treat. I grated apple into them instead of blueberries and that might have added to the dryness - should have added more liquid. I cannot believe I am waffling on about muffins. And dry ones at that. I think a coffee is in order and some knitting whilst I listen to ABC conversations on podcast.

Could my day get any more mundane!

Maybe tomorrow

 Still no visit to meet Alice. I feel a tad sad as I would have thought we would be invited over (they are still with her parents which is 2km from here) and friends have been over. But I must remember we are the "other" grandparents. As I said this morning, it's times like this I miss not having a daughter. Andrew put things in perspective for me and I am now having a green ant gin and tonic. Yes, the gin has green ants and their eggs in it. I almost needed a drink to try it but it's interesting and not unpleasant. I haven't swallowed an ant yet, though.

Still waiting

Discharge happened later than expected and everyone was very tired so I told Three we would wait until today to meet Alice. I am waiting to here from him. He did send me a lovely video of Sally meeting her sister for the first time. She will be a great big sister.

Amy very kindly invited me to "tag team" with her mum but as it turned out that wouldn't have been allowed. I also felt she might feel a bit awkward with her mother in law there. It's at times like this I wish I had a daughter. I love my boys to bits and am blessed with great daughters in law but I sometimes wonder it would like to have had a mother daughter relationship. Which is funny because my relationship with my mother was strained to say the least.

I am feeling very uncomfortable in my skin at the moment. Season changes (especially cool to warm) always affect me and it is most unpleasant. Without the distraction of seeing friends and family it seems worse this year. Hooray for online friends.

She's here

 

Meet Alice Mae born at 4.08 this morning. Parents are exhausted. Grandparents are ecstatic.

Because of Covid we are unable to go and visit them in hospital but they are going home this afternoon and will stay with the other grandparents so we will get a sneaky visit later on today.

The Telstra NBN fiasco is ongoing. The ombudsman has been contacted again. No one is taking responsibility and they are denying the NBN was ever connected in the first place. So the modem in mother in law's room was just for show? 

I really must stop biting my fingers. They are raw and bleeding and bloody sore.

Waiting

Amy was admitted to hospital last night to start the process of inducing labour. It is certainly a more gentle approach than a couple of generations ago. She is bored and frustrated and the hospital is understaffed and over patiented. Three will be in for an interesting time as a frustrated Amy is not a pretty sight!! Hopefully things will kick off soon and Alice will make her entrance in a timely fashion. I can't wait to meet her but have no idea when that will be as no visitors to hospital and they are outside our 5km limit. If she goes to stay with her parents for a couple of days we might be able to sneak an illegal visit as they are a couple of kms away from us.

Our numbers keep rising and we get vague hints about vaccination targets and release from lockdown but no one can really say when this will end and what the beginning of the end will even look like.

The blueberry muffins were a success. The recipe made 6 and I shall make them again. Not exactly helpful in weight reduction but sod it. 

My new weaving project is time consuming but very rhythmic and relaxing. The end result will be a couple of table mats and then I  will tackle something a bit larger. I really want to get more yarn but I have so much in my stash I really need to use that first which limits me a bit in what I can make. Still, I'm lucky to have a hobby that gets the creative juices flowing.

The latest on the garage door is that we are quietly hopeful it will be installed in the next few weeks. Himself will then withdraw his complaint to Consumer Affairs. In October we will get a new driveway which will make the place look much better. I then want to plant some trees in the back garden and turn in from lawn and beds into more of a bush block. Easier to maintain and a bit more dog proof. I just need to be able to get to a nursery so I can buy the plants. And some vege seedlings for my tubs which I will have to put in the front as Jinx can climb onto them and dig them up. But until lockdown is lifted it's all academic.